Taxpayers take hit as AIG pays $23 million so far in Gulf oil spill claims

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)In this Sept. 17, 2008, file photo, the AIG logo is shown in New York. The insurance giant that is 80-percent owned by the U.S. government has taken a $23 million hit so far from the Gulf oil spill in claims it has paid out, the company said Friday, Aug. 6, 2010.

NEW YORK -- Taxpayers took another hit, this one
indirect, from the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon rig
explosion through insurance claims related to the disaster.

AIG,
the insurance giant that is 80 percent owned by the government, said it
paid approximately $23 million in claims following the spill in the Gulf
of Mexico in the second quarter, and expects to pay more.

American
International Group Inc. said it continues to monitor the situation,
and believes its loss reserves will cover any additional claims. But
it's not sure exactly what the eventual total may be.

"AIG's
claims estimates may change over time, as the forensic investigation is
incomplete, the cleanup is incomplete, and the litigation has only just
begun," the company said in a regulatory filing detailing its
second-quarter results.

In addition to claims already filed, more
policyholders may step forward. The company said it could see claims
related to cleanup costs; property damage; environmental damage,
including to the fisheries impacted by the spill; business interruption;
bodily injury and wrongful death claims of the workers on the rig;
claims for the destruction of the rig itself, and various class actions
brought by Gulf Coast residents.

AIG said it's uncertain how the
$20 billion cleanup fund established by BP PLC may affect claims under
policies written by its Chartis insurance unit.

"Injured parties
may seek compensation from the fund rather than through their own or
others' insurance policies," the company noted.